Estonia’s ice cream producer, Premia Tallinna Külmhoone AS, has started cooperating with bio-waste recycling company EKT Ecobio. The company will use ice cream production residues to produce field fertiliser and biogas for Tallinn buses.
According to Premia Tallinna Külmhoone´s CEO, Aivar Aus, starting and stopping an ice cream production line always results in a certain amount of production residues that lack the proper consistency of ice cream in terms of temperature and composition.
FACTS
The food sector accounts for 8% of Estonia’s GDP.
23% of the farmland is organic.
51% of the land is covered by forest.
While production residues were previously sent for disposal, according to Aus, the partnership with EKT Ecobio will give this ice cream mass a new valuable life.
Premia ice cream residues help to produce biogas
“We now send the waste from our ice cream production to the EKT Ecobio factory, which is conveniently located nearby. At this facility, the waste is transformed into biogas that, for example, powers the city buses serving Tallinn residents. One ton of Premia ice cream waste can produce 116 cubic meters of methane gas. This amount is sufficient for a city bus to travel nearly 200 kilometres,” he explained.
According to Premia’s CEO, the company has been critically reviewing its entire ice cream production and supply chain to find new ways to make processes more sustainable.
“Biowaste is an excellent raw material for producing environmentally friendly vehicle fuel. The valuable energy contained in food waste is preserved during fermentation at the factory, allowing the nutrients to be utilised effectively.”
Kalle Grents, Development Manager at EKT Ecobio
“We produce Estonia’s most beloved ice cream at the Premia factory, with an annual production volume exceeding 5,000 tons. For us, minimising the environmental impact of ice cream production is not merely about financial savings; it is a fundamental principle. We have implemented several measures to achieve this goal. Since 2021, we have committed to using only green electricity for our ice cream production, resulting in significant electricity savings. We are also trying to transition our ice cream packaging to fully recyclable mono-materials,” explained Aus.
The EKT Ecobio biogas plant produces domestic gas mainly from kitchen and canteen waste.
Raw material for vehicle fuel
“Biowaste is an excellent raw material for producing environmentally friendly vehicle fuel. The valuable energy contained in food waste is preserved during fermentation at the factory, allowing the nutrients to be utilised effectively. Dairy products – residues from ice cream production sourced from the Premia factory are highly favoured by bacteria and greatly assist fermentation. Additionally, the digestate produced by the EKT Ecobio gas plant is returned to the fields as fertiliser, exemplifying a successful circular economy,” said Kalle Grents, Development Manager at EKT Ecobio.
“One ton of Premia ice cream waste can produce 116 cubic meters of methane gas. This amount is sufficient for a city bus to travel nearly 200 kilometres.”
Aivar Aus, CEO of Premia Tallinna Külmhoone AS
The factory, operating based on the EKT Ecobio circular economy model, helps reduce the amount of food waste sent to landfills, thereby limiting the consumption of non-renewable natural resources, the filling of landfills, and the potential environmental pollution associated with waste disposal.
Premia Tallinna Külmhoone is Estonia’s oldest ice cream manufacturer, which began operations in 1956. With 200 employees, the company is the leader in the Estonian ice cream market, with a market share of nearly 40%. Premia’s product portfolio includes ice cream brands Premia, Eriti Rammus, Väike Tom, Regatt and Vana Toomas, all made with cream without preservatives or artificial colourings.
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